Apparatus for crating or decrating bottles and like operations



April 1, 1958 A. H. WEBSTER APPARATUS FOR CRATING OR DECRATING BOTTLESAND LIKE OPERATIONS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 16, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet2 neyS Apnl 1, 1958 A. H. WEBSTER APPARATUS FOR CRATING OR DECRATINGBOTTLES AND LIKE OPERATIONS Filed Nov. 1a, 1953 i CC Apnl 1, 1958 A. H.WEBSTER 2,828,877

APPARATUS FOR CRATING 0R DECRATING BOTTLES AND LIKE OPERATIONS 8 v FiledNov. 16, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet gs Atl rneyi April 1958 A. H. WEBSTER I2,828,877

APPARATUS FOR CRATING DECRATING BOTTLE AND LIKE O E ATIONS Filed Nov.16, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 dz wa 71 4:524:52?

' A ttorn e y5 April 1, 1958 A. H. APPARATUS FOR CRAT WEBSTER 2,828,877ING OR DECRATING BOTTLES AND LIKE OPERATIONS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov.16, 1955 [mien tori; m,

and T Attorney;

United States Patent APPARATUS FOR CRATING OR DECRATING BOTTLES AND LIKEOPERATIONS Alexander Hyde Webster, London, England Application November16, 1953, Serial No. 392,424

11 Claims. (Cl. 214-309) This invention relates to apparatus for loadingor unloading articles into or from a case, such as crating or decratingbottles, and like operations.

Machines for automatically removing bottles or the like from crates orboxes are well known, and are usually designed to remove bottles fromcases in which they are standing upright in pockets formed in the cratein an orderly manner.

In the operation of such machines, it is usual for cases to be conveyedto the machine on a conveyor. The leading case is arrested andpositioned, whereafter it cooperates with a gripper head which containsa number of spring loaded or mechanically actuated heads, disposed in apattern to engage the upstanding necks of the bottles, and adapted togrip the bottle necks so that when the case descends each bottle isfirmly held and suspended.

Machines exist in which the case is lifted so that the bottles come intoengagement with the gripper head whereafter the case is lowered, orconversely, the gripper head assembly may descend to the pre-positionedcase to engage the bottles and thereafter be elevated so that thegripper head raises the bottles from the case to a desired position. i

In either case, the bottles are suspended from the gripper head, and inknown machines it is common practice then to transfer the gripper headassembly in a substantially horizontal plane and lower it on to a tableso that the dependent bottles are released and remain standing uprighton the table. The table may be a moving platform or may be movingconveyor chains.

The defects of such mechanism are that in the horizontal transferringmotion of the gripper head, the bottles have to be accelerated from aposition of rest and again brought to rest at the dropping point, withthe consequence that they are liable to sway and to be unstable.Further, the need to transfer the head horizontally from the liftingposition to the dropping position adds greatly to the complication ofthe machine and its cost, and reduces the speed of operation. Moreover,unless the bottles are discharged on to a stationary table or platform,they are liable to fall over at the moment of contact with the table dueto acceleration when they already have a tendency to beiunstable owingto their transfer and descent.

Theobject of the invention-is. to provide a mechanism suitable for theaforesaid purpose which is more simple to construct and which ensuresgreater stabilityof the bottles during their movement, than the knowndevices.

With this end in view,the invention consists in a machine for'loading orunloading articles into or from a case, such as crating or de-cratingbottles, or like operations, comprising'a flexible supporting surface,extensible to and retractable from a substantially horizontal positionwhere it can support bottles or the like at one stage of an unloading orloading operation. During a bottledecrating operation, for example,thesupporting surface is retracted when the crate ascends to a positionallowing a gripper head to grip the bottles, or, conversely, when thegripper head descends to bottle gripping position,

Tic

but as soon as the bottles or the like are suspended, the supportingsurface is moved beneath the bottles to .receive them. If the apparatusis used for a bottle crating operation, the supporting surface withbottles in orderly arrangement thereon may be moved beneath the gripperhead which then descends to grip the bottles, whereafter the gripperhead cooperates with the empty crate beneath it to deposit the bottlestherein.

The present invention will be clearly understood from the followingdescription of forms (given, however, merely by way of example) which itmay assume, and this description will be more readily followed byreference to the accompanying drawings wherein- Fig. 1 represents a sideelevation of a bottle-decrating or crating machine according to thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same machine shown in Fig. 1with the driving levers on one side, and the side plate of the machineremoved;

Fig. 3 is a part end-elevational view of the machine shown in .Fig. l inthe direction of arrow Z of Fig. 1';

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary planview of the machine shown in Fig. l; a

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary side -view, partly in section and on anenlargedscale, of a slotted guide plate incorporated in; the machine ofthe present invention; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view on an enlarged scale of theslide and roller devices of the present assembly of bottles or likearticles.

invention.

In the preferred form of the present invention illustrated and describedherein, a supporting surface com: prises an endless belt 1. ofsufiicient width to support the This belt 1 passes over-a movableend-pulley A set in a frame or slide head 20 slidable in a substantiallyhorizontal plane, and each run of the belt 1 which extends substantiallyhorizontally, passes over a roller or sprocket C, D, respectively, andturns downwards at right angles to complete the belt loop round a bottomsprocket B or roller assembly set in a slide head 21 disposed andslidable in a vertical plane. The outgoing and return runscf the endlessbelt 1 are thus parallel to one another and the horizontal portions areonebeneath the other. The two terminal rollers A and B, slidable one ina horizontal plane and the other in a" vertical plane, beingmounted incorresponding slide heads 20, 21, as described above, are connectedtogether by linkage (described more fully below) so that the two rolleror sprocket shafts remain parallel to one another and at all times aredisposed at a prearranged distance from one another along the length ofthe belt 1, and thus said belt is kept at constant tension.

The horizontally slidable roller A is adapted to be moved by suitablemeans (one form of which is de: scribed below), to and away from aposition in which the belt extends over a case or crate S.

The upper roller C over which the belt turns through 90 and passesvertically downwards, is fitted with a ratchet 22 which prevents motionof the belt 1 in the forward direction, that is, towards the case orcrate 5. The lower roller D round which the return belt 1 turns through90 from vertical to horizontal, is provided with a ratchet 23 to preventmotion of said belt in the reverse direction, that is away from thecase.

An air piston 24 drives by link-rod 26 a pivoted bellcrank lever ofwhich one arm 25 is connected to the slide 21, and the other arm 28 isconnected to the slide 20, sothat rocking of this bell-crank effects thedown- Ward'motion of the slide head 21 and thus eifects a corratchet. 23is locked, and thus in the downward motion of the vertical slide head21, the return belt is unable to move in a direction away from the caseand, therefore, the upper surface of the belt 1 (forming the supportingsurface) moves in a direction away from the case 5 at a speed equal totwice the speed of the horizontal slide head 20. During an upwardmovement of the vertical slide head 21 the ratchet 23 of the roller Dbearing the return belt is free, but the ratchet 22 on the other rollerC is locked, so that as the horizontal slide 20 moves towards the case5, the upper surface of the belt 1 does. not move but is lengthened bythe belt fed to it round the roller A of the horizontal slide 20, until,when the slide comes to rest, it extends over the case 5.

The bottles are deposited on the stationary uppersurface of the belt 1by the gripper head mechanism of known form (shown diagrammatically at 4in Figs. 1 and 2), and are thus conveyed away at twice the speed ofmotion of the horizontal slide head 20 and may, for example, be passedby means of this motion, from the endless belt 1 on to conveyor bands 2which convey them away for the next operation, such as the in-feed of abottle-washing machine.

The form of construction and path of the belt 1 may be altered andadapted to requirements within wide limits.

Referring in greater detail to the form of the inventionshown in theaccompanying drawings, apparatus for deinterconnected. by a suitablemechanical linkage (described more fully below) for simultaneous slidingmove-- ments. The belt 1 passes over the rollers C and D each equippedwith ratchet means 22, 23, respectively, which, when the machine is usedfor de-crating, allow rotation only in the direction of the arrows (Fig.2). Thus when the belt 1 is in position to receive bottles, the verticalslide head B may be driven downwards preferably by the air cylinder 24or other suitable means (not shown). Roller C is fitted with ratchetmeans 22 which leave it free to move in this sense, but roller D isprevented from rotation by its ratchet means 23. Consequently, as Bdescends, the horizontal slide head 20 is withdrawn from A to A.1 andthe upper surface of the belt 1, forming the bottle supportng surface,moves in the direction shown by-the arrow in Fig. 2, in which thehorizontal belt is moving at twice the speed of the slide. The bottlesare thus moved towards and delivered on to an adjacent bottle conveyorsystem 2 which conveys them away for the next operation. I p

A trip bar 3 is pivoted on the slide frame or head 20 of roller A,upstanding behind the assembly of bottles, and is so arranged that inthe event of obstruction to the, free passage of the bottles, the tripbar 3 is depressed, thus reducing or cutting elf entirely the operatingsupply of air to the cylinder 24, or otherwise slowing down or arrestingoperation of the machine. As the obstructing bottles clear on to thebottle conveyor system 2, the bar 3 resumes its upright position underthe action of spring tension of the type to be hereinafter describedpermitting further forward motion until the slide head 20 has reachedposition Al, where the slide head 20 trips a valve or mechanism (notshown) operating the bottle gripper-head 4 so that either the headdescends to pick up a charge of bottles from a crate 5 positionedbeneath it or, conversely, the crate 5 is lifted so that the bottles aregripped by the gripping head 4. The crate 5 re-descends or, conversely,the head 4 ascends, after the supply of bottles has been gripped by saidhead, to a position where the punts of the pack of bottles are justclear of the level of the upper surface of the belt 1. The constructionof the gripper operating means and the manner of operation thereof (oralternatively the means and manner of open.

ation of raising and lowering a crate to cooperate with the gripperhead) may be of any known or convenient construction and do not per seform part of the present invention.

When this portion of the cycle is complete, automatic means (e. g. tripmeans, not shown) effect the reversal of the air cylinder 24 or othermeans operating the vertical slide head 21, causing this to rise fromposition B1 to position which, by means of the interconnecting linkage,moves the horizontal slide head 20 from A.1 to A.

During the passageof the horizontal slide head from Al to A, the tripbar 3 may be conveniently moved to a position clear of the bottles by amechanical cam arrangement described below, and in this position is inadvance of the roller A. If this trip bar 3 should meet any obstructionwhich would prevent the forward movement of A, it would again act asasensitive trip and stop the movement, thus preventing damage to themechamsm.

When the horizontal slide head 20 has reached its ultimate position A,this trips a valve (not shown) causing either the delivery of thebottles on to the belt from the gripper head 4 by mechanical orpneumatic means which may,-if desired, be accompanied by a preliminaryslight depression of said gripping head so that the punts of the bottlesare resting firmly on the stationary belt'at the moment ofdisengagement. It will be noted that during and upon completion of theforward movement of the horizontal slide from A.l to A, theupper'surface of the belt is always at rest relative to the bottlesbecause roller C cannot, due'to its ratchet 22, rotate in the sensenecessary to allow the upper run of the, belt to move in the directionfrom position A.l to position A. Roller D is, however, free to turn inthe sense permitting the underside of the belt to move. As soon as thebottles are disengaged from the gripping head 4 reversal of the aircylinder 24 is elfected and the cycle recommences as previouslydescribed.

A form of linkage which may be used to advantage to interconnect thehorizontal and vertical slides 20 and 21 comprises a bell-crank lever 25having one arm con= nected to the driving rod 26 of an air cylinder 24.The

1 two arms of the crank lever 25 are connected one each,

i individual elements, such as the slide heads, crateand bottleconveyors, and the bottle-gripping means, may be of any known kind,while alternative driving means may be employed for hydraulic, electricor other actuation, and may incorporate means for ensuring automaticsequence of the different cyclic operations of any known or convenientform.

One form of trip mechanism referred to above which may be embodied inthe invention is illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 of the accompanyingdrawings. The trip bar 3 is supported by arms 9 pivoted at 10 to a plateor frame 11 which is mounted at the side of the horizontal slide head 20and capable of pivotal movement in relation thereto about the point 10.The arm 9 is centralised on plate 11 by oppositely acting tensionsprings 12, and has a side-projection or lug 13 radiussed aboutpivot-point 10, with a notch or recess 14 on its edge. The spring-loadedplunger 15 of an air control valve or switch mounted on the plate orframe 11 rides against the edge of lug 13, and when the arm 9 iscentralised, rests in the notch or recess 14, in which case the valve orswitch is inoperative. An extension of the frame or plate 11 carries aroller 16 which runs in a path 17 (Figure 5) formed, for example, in oron a metal plate secured to a rigid support forming part of the machine.This path 17 is a closed circuit, and at two points is provided withnon-return stops 18, 19 normally held, e. g. by springs, in thepositions shown in dotted lines, but displaceable to the positions shownin full lines when passed by the roller 16. When the roller 16 traversesthe lower part of path 17, the plate 11 is in the position shown in fulllines in Figure 5 with the arm 9 upstanding as shown in full lines;while during the time roller 16 runs in the upper part of path 17, theplate 11 is thrown about its pivot and the arm 9 occupies the positionpartially shown in dotted lines in Figure 5. Under normal conditions ineach positin,'the plunger 15 remains seated in notch 14 of lug 13, andthe control device remains inoperative.

The cycle of movement of the trip device is as follows:

When the horizontal slide head 2% is in its outermost extended position,roller 16 occupies the extreme end of the upper portion of the path 17,i. e. to the left of stop 18 as seen in Figure 5, and the arm 9 thusoccupies a forwardly sloping position (Figure 5). Upon withdrawalmovement of the slide head 2.9, i. e. to the right as seen in Fig. 5,the roller l6 guided by stop 18 runs down the inclined portion of path17 to the lower level, and plate 11 is rocked to bring arm 9 to anupright position (Figure 5), in which attitude it moves behind thebottles being discharged from the upper run of the belt conveyor f. Ifthe bottles should be jammed, the belt 1 travels beneath them, and tripbar 3 upon encountering the bottles is displaced, thereby actuatingplunger 15 and its control device to arrest operation of the machine.When the obstruction is removed, the arm 9 with trip bar 3 is againcentralised by its springs 12 and the control device re-actuatedallowing the machine to continue operation.

At the end of the slide-head stroke, roller 15 runs past stop 19, andupon the next outward motion of the slide head 29, rides up the inclinedportion of the path 17 to the upper level of the path, thus rockingplate 11 and arm 9 to a forwardly-sloping position (Figure 5), which itcontinues to occupy throughout the outward stroke of the slide head 2t).In this position the trip bar 3 is at the level of the upper run of thebelt conveyor 1, and is not actuated unless it encounters anobstruction, e. g. a bottle supported by the gripper head at two low alevel, or too long for accommodation beside other bottles, in which caseit is again displaced to actuate the control device through plunger 15,and to hold the machine arrested until the obstruction is removed. Uponcompletion of the outward stroke of the slide head 26 the roller 16reaches theextreme position of the upper portion of path 17, beyond stop18, and the same cycle as acove described is repeated.

From the above description it will be clear that the main feature of theinvention comprises a supporting surface movable to and away from aposition between a crate or container for bottles, and a gripping devicewhereby the bottles can be engaged and supported. When beneath thegripping device, the supporting surface is preferably stationary, butduring withdrawal it preferably operates as a conveyor surface (inaddition to its bodily movement of retraction), to transfer bottles toreceiving means.

It will be appreciated that while the invention has been described as ofuse for bottles, it may he employed for handling any articles, packed orintended for packing in a crate or container of any kind, and which canbe gripped and suspended in the same way as bottles, and such articlesare to be understood as included in the term bottles used herein.

While the driving means for the invention may be of any convenient kind,it is preferred that they should be pneumatic in nature, as the use ofsuch means facilitates or arresting motion, and is conveniently inaccordance with the known practice of using air operated mechanisms,often interlinked, so that each of a series of motions is consequentupon the completion of a preceding motion, and allows substantiallyinfinite flexibility or control of speed in accordance with the imposedload.

While the invention has been described above when used for a de-cratingoperation, it will be apparent that it may be employed for otherpurposes, and more especially for the crating of bottles. For thispurpose the ratchet means of both rollers C and'D should be reversed(being preferably reversible at the will of an operator) so that inoutward movement of the supporting surface towards the position beneaththe gripper head, the upper run of the belt moves forward in conveyorfashion to bring bottles, appropriately marshalled and aligned, beneaththe gripper head, which then engages and supports the bottles duringwithdrawal of the belt, whereafter the bottles are released .by thegripper head into a crate in cooperative relation with the head. Such anarrangement is within the scope of the invention.

It should be understood that the invention is not re stricted solely tothe details of the forms described above which may be modified, in orderto meet various conditions and requirements encountered, withoutdeparting in any way from the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

l. A machine for loading articles into, or unloading articles from, acase, such as crating or de-crating bottles, comprising a mainsupporting framework, end rollers movably mounted in said framework, anendless conveyor extending between and mounted on said end rollers,means for reciprocating said end rollers between positions in which saidendless conveyor extends as a substantially horizontal surface at asupporting point for said articles, and positions in which said endlessconveyor is retracted from said supporting point, means for causing saidendless conveyor to run round said end rollers during and only duringmovement of said end rollers etween said positions, and means to ensureunidirectional movement of said endless conveyor round said end rollersirrespective of the direction of reciprocatorymovement of said endrollers. p

2. A machine for loading articles into, or unloading articles from, acase, such as crating or de-crating bottles, comprising a mainsupporting framework, a gripper head, means for locating a case beneathsaid gripper head, end rollers movably mounted in said framework, anendless conveyor extending between and mounted on said end rollers,means for reciprocating said end rollers between positions in which saidendless conveyor extends as a substantially horizontal surface beneathsaid gripper head and over said case located beneath saidgripper head,and positions in which said endless conveyor is retracted from beneathsaid gripper head, means for causing said endless conveyor to run aroundsaid end rollers during and only during movement of said end rollersbetween said positions, and means to ensure unidirectional movement ofsaid endless conveyor round said end rollers irrespective of thedirection of reciprocatory movement of said end rollers.

3. A machine for loading articles into, or unloading articles from, acase such as crating or de-crating bottles, comprising a main supportingframework, slides reciprocable in slideways in said framework, endrollers mounted in said slides, an endless conveyor extending betweenand mounted on said end rollers, means for reciprocating said, slides tomove said end rollers between positions in which said endless conveyorextends as a substantially horizontal surface at a supporting point forsaid articles, and positions in which said endless conveyor is retractedfrom said supporting point, means for causing said endless conveyor torun round said end rollers during and only during movement of said endthe provision of sensitive trip devices for slowing down 76 rollersbetween said positions, and means to ensure uniassess":

7 directional movement of said endless conveyor round said end rollersirrespective of the direction of, reciprocatory movement of said endrollers.

4. A machine according to claim 3 comprising intermediate rollers overwhich said endless conveyor runs, wherein one of said slidesreciprocates in a substantially vertical direction, and another in asubstantially horizontal direction.

5. A machine for loading articles into, or unloading articles from, acase, such as crating or dc-crating bottles, comprising a mainsupporting framework, rollers mounted in said framework and includingend rollers movably mounted in said framework, an endless conveyorextending between and mounted on said end rollers, means forreciprocating said end rollers between positions in which said endlessconveyor extends as a substantially horizontal surface at a supportingpoint for said articles, and positions in which said endless conveyor isretracted from said supporting point, means for causing said endlessconveyor to run round said end rollers during and only during movementof said end rollers between said positions, and pawl means associatedwith at least one of said rollers adapted to ensure unidirectionalrotation thereof and thus to ensure unidirectional movement of saidendless conveyor round said rollers irrespective of the direction ofreciprocatory movement of said end rollers.

6. A machine for loading articles into, or unloading articles from, acase, such as crating or de-crating bottles, comprising a mainsupporting framework, end rollers movably mounted in said framework, anendless conveyor extending between and mounted on said end rollers,means for reciprocating said end rollers between positions in which theupper run of said endless conveyor extends as a substantially horizontalsurface at a supporting point for said articles, and positions in whichsaid upper run of said endless conveyor is retracted from saidsupporting point, means for causing said endless conveyor to run roundsaid end rollers during and only during movement of said end rollersbetween said positions, means to prevent linear movement of said upperrun of said conveyor during movement of said end rollers to extend saidconveyor to said supporting point, and a receiving surface adjacent tosaid upper run of said conveyor for receiving articles from said upperrun of said conveyor as the result of linear movement of the latterduring retracting movement of said end rollers.

7. A machine according to claim 6 wherein said receiving surfacecomprises another movable endless conveyor.

8. A machine for loading articles into, or unloding articles from, acase, such as crating or de-crating bottles, comprising a mainsupporting framework, end rollers movably mounted in said framework, anendless conveyor extending between and mounted on said end rollers,means for reciprocating said end rollers between positions in which saidendless conveyor extends as a substantially horizontal surface at asupporting point for said articles and positions in which said endlessconveyor is retracted from said supporting point, means for causing saidendless conveyor to run round said end rollers during and only duringmovement of said end rollers between said positions, means to ensureunidirectional move ment of said endless conveyor round said end rollersirrespective of the direction of reciprocatory movement of said endrollers, and trip means operable by a displaced article on saidconveyor, adapted, when operated, to initiate arrest of the machine.

9. A machine according to claim 8 comprising means for automaticallymoving said trip means to dilierent operative portions during movementsof said end rollers, respectively, to extend and retract said endlessconveyor.

10. A machine according to claim 8 wherein said endless rollers aremounted on slides reciprocally slidable in ways in said framework, oneof said slides being reciprocable in a substantially horizontaldirection, and said trip means being carried by said horizontallyreciprocable slide.

11. A machine for loading articles into, or unloading articles from, acase, such as crating or de-crating bottles, comprising a mainsupporting framework, two rollers in constant spatial relationshipsimultaneously reciprocable between two positions of rest, said rollersrotating'only during said reciprocable movement, an endless belt mountedon and extending between said rollers, and adapted to be stationary onsaid rollers when said rollers are at rest, means for reciprocating saidrollers between said positions of rest and for simultaneously causingsaid conveyor to run round said rollers, and means to prevent movementof one run of said conveyor in relation to said framework duringmovement of said rollers in one direction of reciprocation and means toprevent movement of the other run of said conveyor in relation to saidframework during movement of said rollers in the other direction ofreciprocation.

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